Currently, a plurality of methods and Laser therapy systems for skin rejuvenation and scar treatment are known and available which are based, for example, on fractionated Laser ablation or mesotherapeutic collagen induction methods. For fractionated Laser ablation, devices such as Fraxel®, for instance, are known and in use. A denaturation of collagen and, consequently, a “shrinking” of the tissue can also be achieved by radio frequency, for instance by a Thermage® device. Such methods and devices are generally based on the application of injuries in the skin by means of a mechanical or a thermal therapy device, such as a Laser, in different shapes and depths depending on the device. Subsequent repair processes of the body then eventually lead, by degradation of the destroyed tissue and reconstitution of the tissue, to skin rejuvenation or simply to an epidermal and/or subepidermal scar which can also lead to a smoothing of the skin. This is to be distinguished from “mesotherapeutic” methods which also comprise, in the broadest sense, a percutaneous collagen induction therapy, also called “needling”. Here, microbleedings in the stratum papillare of the skin are produced, for example by means of a needle roller, causing a release of blood corpuscles, mainly thrombocytes, in the dermis. From the thrombocytes, among others, growth factors, such as TGFβ3, VEGF, EGF, for example, are then released. They promote the degradation and regeneration of scars and the formation of directed collagen in the dermis, causing a regeneration or rejuvenation of the skin to a certain degree. These treatment methods also include a perioperative treatment with vitamin A and vitamin C containing creams for achieving high local levels of vitamin A and vitamin C which are important cofactors or coenzymes, respectively, for the formation of collagen and elastin in a target region of the skin for forming collagen and elastin.
All the above-mentioned methods and devices have in common that they are either mainly superficial or quite invasive and therefore prone to high risks and side-effects, with a satisfactory macroscopic result, but no anatomically reconstructing effect. With “needling”, in addition to the painfulness of the treatment, the danger of infection, both for the therapist and the patient, is not to be underestimated. A cosmetic-aesthetic method wherein blood penetrates the surface of the skin is not to be seen uncritically in the age of HIV and hepatitis. Further, there is little possibility of standardization and thus quality assurance of such a method since parameters such as application force of the needle instrument and thus depth of needle application in the skin, a change in direction causing a grid effect, a matrix shift and thus, possibly, multiple perforations of the same skin area are dependent on the therapist and therefore not measurable or comparable.
WO 2008/089344 A2 (Neev) describes a device and a method of an IR Laser application for a dermal Laser application wherein several focused light beams with up to 10,000 focus points or light spots, respectively, can be generated and applied. Since the light beams are focused with a specific focal length, the light beam penetrates the skin with a first cross-sectional area and with a first light density and generates, in the respective focus point in the treatment area of the skin, a second light density much higher than the first one, which in the focus point is high enough to cause a light-induced reaction of the skin. Applications described comprise, for example, a stimulation or deadening of hair roots, treatment of acne, tattoos, changes of color, tanning, eye treatment including a generation of subcutaneous cavities. The latter entails degeneration and transformation processes in the skin and the formation of collagen fibers. A focal length and an energy of the respective light beam are selected such that the epidermis is not perforated. The use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) as an imaging method allows an observation of the skin structure, for instance with hair roots, blood vessels, matrix cells and papillae, also in a perspective view, so that this area can be targeted with the light spots. The device can also comprise a cooling element for the skin, which, however, will hardly be necessary.
WO 2008/001 284 A2 (Verhagen at al.) describes a Laser therapy system and a method for skin treatment in the depth of the skin which is based on Laser induced Breakdown (LIOB). By means of a camera and a monitor, wrinkles can be made visible for targeted Laser treatment in the depth of the skin.
WO 02/053 050 A1 (Altshuler et al.) describes a device and a method for a light-induced treatment in the depth of the skin, wherein the light source can be either a Laser light source or a non-coherent light source. A plurality of focused light beams are created simultaneously by an optical system comprising many lenses arranged in a network-like structure which lenses are integral or non-integral. Furthermore, the device comprises a cooling element for the skin which can be either a skin contact plate or the lens system itself.
From U.S. Pat. No. 7,198,634 B2, a Laser therapy system for skin treatment is known which has both an infrared light source and a light source with a violet or blue spectrum.
All current methods, Laser-based or otherwise, do not comply with an anatomically physiological reconfiguration or remodeling of the skin tissue.